Our history WAS Biblical prophecy-
Yesterday we were discussing a bit of the Book of Daniel- a prophetic book. In this book of prophecy the prophet Daniel gives a prophecy that spans from Babylon to Christ's Return. Yes, we are in there, living before Christ's return.
We mentioned yesterday that the king of Babylon had a dream and wanted his soothsayers and the like to tell him his dream. They wanted him to tell them the dream and then they'd interpret it. He didn't want that, he'd forgotten the dream and wanted them to tell him the dream. They said it was impossible and he ordered them all killed. Daniel, one of the Jewish slaves that had been taken captive was among those considered to be wise men, and he too was ordered to be killed with the others. Here's where we pick up…
'Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation."
Daniel didn't want to die, understandable so. Daniel went into the king after finding out why he'd order his death, and asked for some time and then he would give the kind what he wanted. Daniel wasn't a Satan serving man, he was a God-fearing man. Daniel didn't profess to have any sorcery or magic, he didn't tout and ability of his own.
"Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter."
Praise to GOD! Daniel and his companions prayed and that night as he slept, Daniel was given a dream of what the king's dream was about. God answered Daniel's prayer spectacularly. Daniel praised and thanked God, glorifying Him wonderfully!
"Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation."
In a hurry the king's guard went to the king to tell him he'd found someone who could give the king what he wanted. So many lives would be spared because of Daniel, because of God.
"The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these"
Daniel was quick to give GOD all the glory for what the king was about to hear. Daniel didn't seek any glory of his own at all, none, not a bit. Daniel didn't go on and on saying that he had the answers, he didn't have them, GOD had them and that is what He wanted the king to realize. No other god, and there were plenty that were worshiped by others, could do what the God of heaven could do.
"As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart."
How amazing, Daniel is very quick to push the limelight off himself. He wasn't gaining wisdom by doing what he was doing. Daniel did not want to take a single bit of glory, not the tiniest bit. He was doing this to save the lives, because truly a lot of lives were at stake.
"O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
Wow, right? Wow! From Babylon, the king ruled 605 – 562 BCE, and the statue of his dream has his kingdom at the top and at the bottom of that statue is the LORD's RETURN. We live in the time of the toes. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, Rome and all the divisions that stemmed from conquered Rome… we live in the time of the divided Rome, the ten toes time. There are NO more great kingdoms to rule the vast lands - from England to Egypt and completely surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, no one entity has ever ruled it all since Rome, and never will. Christ will return. Just as each of those kingdoms came to pass, Christ will return and nothing will stop that from happening, nothing. Yes, 2500 or so years ago the prophecy began and it will have an end. The Roman empire fell around 395 AD, 1626 years ago that empire began to be divided and has remained so. There were about 870 some years from Babylon to the fall of Rome, and the toes of that statue have existed the longest, not quite double the years of those four kingdoms prior to the toes, time will end though. A lot has occurred during all those kingdoms, and all those years. The Book of Daniel has many prophecies that occur during this time, many have come to pass, all but a very few in fact- but those few WILL occur.
Now, let's continue tomorrow with the Matthew 24 study we started yesterday. Prophecy and the end times, and the question--
Do you think Jesus has delayed His return or is long-suffering? Think about that for a long while, the answer is important.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of
2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
May God bless us, and may the Holy Spirit open our understanding as we study. All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment